Anger Machining Wins Large Contract for New Transmission Production

The Austrian manufacturing technology firm Anger Machining GmbH has won a contract to provide six HCX transfer center machines to Chrysler’s Kokomo (Indiana) Transmission Plant . Together with FIAT, Chrysler will manufacture two of the most modern transmissions in the world: an 8- and 9-speed automatic transmission for front-wheel drive Chrysler models starting in 2013. Anger´s system consists of machines with fully automated robot loading to machine the new transmission´s valve plates and the valve body.

What does this all mean? Well, imagine you are a global car manufacturer and need to machine parts made of different types of metal in various sizes and quantities, all high precision and due yesterday. Radical and unforeseen changes lie ahead, so you need speed, precision and flexibility. In the past you have set up transfer lines, which produce high, consistent volumes at a low piece cost, but are expensive to build and inflexible. In order to get more flexibility to adjust to fluctuations in demand and other part variants, you have also included BAZ machining centers in your production. However, they have a higher operating and unit cost and require a lot of space. Now you need the advantages of both. Enter Anger Machining.

The ANGER HCX transfer center combines productivity and flexibility in machining components by changing a fundamental paradigm: it brings the workpiece to the tools, rather than the other way around. This allows complete processes reconfiguration for changing over to a new part, which in turns lowers Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) costs considerably.

As the automotive sector continues to be driven by the principle of ecological sustainability, the transformation of being able to do more with less starts with machining, and Anger is leading the way.